Olympic host Costas knows how to reel in viewers

For a generation of younger fans, Bob Costas has become synonymous with hosting the Olympics on American television.

KEN McMILLAN

For a generation of younger fans, Bob Costas has become synonymous with hosting the Olympics on American television.

Starting with a minor hosting role at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games, Costas assumed the role as lead host on NBC's prime-time Olympics coverage — a position in line with the late Jim McKay's host duties at CBS and then ABC from 1960 through the 1988 Calgary Winter Games. The London Games will be Costas' 10th Olympics.

Starting with Friday night's Opening Ceremony, Costas will host 17 nights of prime-time coverage, with an estimated audience of more than 200 million expected to watch some part or another.

"At the heart of it,'' Costas said of his hosting duties, "is to tell stories well.''

That's something Costas has been doing well into his fifth decade of professional work, which is almost incomprehensible since Costas hardly looks or sounds like he's 60 years old.

The Olympics attracts a television audience that is not solely hooked on sports — studies have shown women watch in much larger numbers than they would an NFL or Major League Baseball game, and audience numbers are strong from teen years to seniors. Add to that a mix of sports that rarely get any play outside of the Olympic years and more than 200 nations participating, and the hosting task becomes more challenging.

"It's a prime-time miniseries spread out over nearly three weeks,'' Costas said. "We will present everything that a person who deeply cares about track and field, or deeply cares about fencing "» we'll present everything they need to know.

"But we will also continue to present things in a way that brings in the person who might never watch even a swimming competition, or even a 100-meter competition. "» You have to not only clue those viewers in as to who these competitors are as athletes, and what's at stake, and what the likely dynamics of the competition are, you also have to give them some kind of back story about at least some of these competitors to give them a reason to be invested in it. So, you know, I understand that that is the approach.''

Costas has worked Summer Games in Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens and Beijing, and Winter Games from Salt Lake, Torino and Vancouver — that kind of history serves him well.

"I have a general idea of which sports are most likely to get the bulk of the attention in prime time so your focus is there,'' he said. "And then your focus is on the handful of athletes likely to star and contend for medals within those sports. There's also the broader idea of being as familiar as possible with the host city, the host nation. I've built up a general understanding of the history of the Olympics, and some of the touchstones, and great athletes that are likely to be compared.''

Costas serves as the ultimate traffic cop, directing the audience from one segment to another with some level of authority on the subject. He engages his interview subjects well, often interjecting wit and analysis. His work has been critically acclaimed, in the Olympics and elsewhere.

"The essence of good story telling, and the essence of good broadcasting remains the same,'' Costas said. "I think any good broadcast "» should have texture to it. It should have information, should have some history, should have something that's offbeat, quirky, humorous, and where called for it should have journalism and judiciously it should also have commentary. That's my idea. "» Sometimes we exactly hit that, sometimes we don't.''